The property market may crash in three or four years’ time if lenders do not learn their lesson, it has been claimed.

Trevor Kent, spokesperson for the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), said if they start to offer 100 and 125 per cent mortgages then problems may arise.

"If it is not properly policed, if we return to the Keystone Cops policing that we saw in the last five years, then there is always the risk that it will happen again," he suggested.

Lenders may find themselves subject to strict legislation, Mr Kent advised, which may mean they have to prove they have ample earning records and caps on income multiplies.

Hometrack reported on June 29th that the average property cost £155,600 that month – the same figure as May and April, although prices have fallen by 8.7 per cent in the past year.

Sellers achieved an average of 91 per cent of their asking price in June, compared to 90.3 per cent in May and 89.6 per cent in April, the report also revealed.